ENGLISH JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

NORTHERN AREA

Inn Off The Park, Middlesbrough

English Under-19 Championships

The ten Northern area entries for the under-19 Championship gathered at the Inn Off The Park Snooker Centre on Sunday 15th November 1998, to find the four regional qualifiers. All games were of one hour duration.

The preliminary round saw Robin Wilson set the standard with an aggregate score of 495 in defeating Ormesby team-mate Peter Arkless. This included a top break of 76, which proved to be the highest of the day, and for good measure he added two others over fifty and a couple of 40´s. Robin´s next opponent, Chris Appleton, must have felt he had enough to cope with after watching this performance, but had further problems when he lost the tip from his cue during a pre-match practice session. Playing with a club cue, he was unable to sustain any challenge to the under-19 Champion, who hardly left first gear in cruising to a comfortable win. Martin Shutt and Darren Clark, who both appeared in the final stages of last year´s under-16, moved up to the under-19´s for the first time this year. Martin had a comfortable victory in his qualifying match, but Darren lost out to another regular competitor, Ben Hooton. Lee McKenna completed the line-up from the North of England with a win over Glen Blythman.

English Under-16 Championships

Allan Taylor travelled from Liverpool to qualify through the Northern Region.

The following Sunday saw the turn of the under-16´s at the same venue in Middlesbrough. Last year´s finalist, Robin Wilson, was given a bye when his opponent Stephen Weisby, failed to turn up. Stephen, who is based in Liverpool, had previously given the organisers snooker tournament which was taking place on the same day. One competitor who did make the long journey from the West coast was Allan Taylor, who was rewarded with a qualifying place when he defeated local player Michael Evans. Thirteen-year-old Allan who was the only competitor from outside the Teesside region, has already recorded some notable victories in his local league, and with some impressive potting skills, is one to watch out for in the finals. Top aggregate score of 262 came from Billy Bousfield, who was also involved in the final stages last year. Scott Casey came through to secure his place with wins against Mark Coates and Robbie Harvey.

SOUTHERN AREA

Pot Black Club, Fakenham

English Under-19 Championships

Held at the Pot Black Club at Fakenham on 17th October, the Southern Area qualifiers went much as expected, with Matthew Sutton and Gavin Lewis winning through to the finals of the under-19 competition. They were joined by Dean Bavister and Jim Chambers. Sutton had two breaks over fifty in his match against Fraser Adams, which included the best of the day, a 58.

English Under-16 Championships

Matthew Sutton and Gavin Lewis also qualified for the finals of the under-16 event, with Sutton in particular showing good form. Calvin Daws, who had lost to Sutton in the under-19 competition, made it through with victories over Sian Kidd and Nathan Mann. Aaron Spencer was the fourth qualifier from the region.